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Michael Dougherty appointed to replace Stan Garnett as Boulder County DA

Foote says he'll run for the seat this year

By Mitchell Byars

Staff Writer

Posted:
02/21/2018 04:25:34 PM MST

Updated:
02/21/2018 09:09:34 PM MST

Michael Dougherty, seen here outside an Arapahoe County courtroom in 2012, has been appointed Boulder County district attorney following the resignation of Stan Garnett. (Hyoung Chang / The Denver Post)

Dougherty, who lives in Boulder and is currently an assistant district attorney in the First Judicial District, was selected over Boulder Deputy District Attorney Mike Foote, the other finalist for the job.

"I am thrilled to have been selected by Governor Hickenlooper to serve as the next Boulder County District Attorney," Dougherty said in a statement. "The opportunity to lead the District Attorney's Office in this community is an incredible honor and privilege. I will work tirelessly, drawing upon my twenty years of experience as a prosecutor, to ensure public safety and achieve progressive criminal justice reform for Boulder County.

"I look forward to working closely with Stan Garnett and his staff to ensure a smooth transition for the office and the people of Boulder."

Garnett said Dougherty will begin meeting with him this morning, and that he plans to work with his successor during his final week in office.

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"I look forward to working with him around the clock to ensure a smooth transition," Garnett said. "He'll be pretty much shadowing me non-stop starting (Thursday) morning. But he is a very experienced prosecutor and a very experienced leader."

While Dougherty has been appointed DA, he will have to run for office later this year if he wants to retain the position, as the Boulder district attorney's seat will be up for election in November.

Aschkinasi said Dougherty, who suspended his attorney general campaign to apply for the Boulder position, was taking things "one step at a time," and had not yet made any decisions about running as the incumbent district attorney.

"This November, Boulder County voters will ultimately decide who serves as their next district attorney," Foote said in a prepared statement Wednesday. "This is how it should be, and I welcome the process.

"I launched my campaign earlier this month so I could reach out to the community and share my vision for the office with those voters. I look forward to continuing that effort and earning their support."

While the general election is in November, Foote and Dougherty are both Democrats, so they would face off in the primary on June 26 if they both chose to run for the office.

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